


Game On (To Win My Heart)

by 4snowfalls (orphan_account)



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - High School, Enemies to Lovers, M/M, Rivals, Romantic Comedy, Sexual Content, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Soonhoon - Freeform, Video & Computer Games, Virtual Reality, will update as I go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-06
Updated: 2017-03-19
Packaged: 2018-09-22 12:36:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9607880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/4snowfalls
Summary: SHINee1010 and Woozi hate each other in the world of virtual reality.Lee Jihoon befriends the wild new kid, Kwon Soonyoung, at his high school.(Or that AU where Soonhoon are two nerdy teenage boys who don't really know what they want)





	1. The Ice Prince

**AUTHORS NOTE:** Re-posted because it was deleted for some reason, I deeply apologize. I DON'T KNOW WHY IT SAID IT WAS ONLY ONE CHAPTER LONG I AM SORRY WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH MY ARCHIVE

 

A pink haired male sits in a bush. His eyes carefully take in the ongoing events in front of him. His squadron were charging at another squadron in the arena. He was currently entered in a Team vs. Team match where anything could happen and someone could be blown into pieces at the same time. It was fast paced. But it wasn't anything that the pink haired male couldn't handle. He was a top player in Gun Gale Online; everyone said it and everyone could see it. His name was on the Gunner's Hall of Fame in Area 10A. It was typed in the number one spot, and it's been there for the past two years. No one has even come close to knocking his name off. The fast paced game was sometimes too fast for some people to even handle, even the top players were discombulated once in a while.

Woozi eyes the chaos on the field. The sounds of gunshots play like a broken record. The sky was an odd mix of blue and pink as the sun set in the horizon. It wasn't real, why would it be? This was all a generated field by virtual reality. It was simulated. For a second, the male ponders what sunsets looked like in the real world. He never usually bothered. It didn't seem of value to him. He had so much other things to do so, why would he stare at a setting sun? Woozi shakes his head and resumes focusing on what was important to him at the moment - the battle. Battles contributed to his ranking. There was an invisible number of wins and losses along with the occasional draw. Woozi simply looks through the scope of his sniper to plan his next move. That is, until a loud voice shouts rolls through the environment and slaps Woozi in the face.

"Hey, there's Woozi! Get him!" It's a young voice, most likely a rookie, because who the hell would yell before attacking someone?

"Tch."

The male looks behind him to see a player from the other team charging at him. His pink hair falls over his eyes, shielding his perspective from anyone who wanted to see where he was aiming. Woozi was his name. Woozi was a top dog. His equipment proved it. Woozi quickly takes out his H&K MP7 to shoot the player who was charging at him while aimlessly shooting. Woozi squints to get accurate shooting and he successfully shoots the unknown player in the face - while suffering some damage as well. He darts around to see if anyone else was nearby, using his skills of player location. But everyone was focused on the open field. Woozi grabs his main weapon, a PGM Ultima Ratio Hecate II. Getting up, he runs off to find another hiding spot.

 _He got me in the arm_ , Woozi thought. _But I'll be fine._

Woozi takes place in a tree that had convieniant thick branches. He sets his gun up and looks into the scope. Gun Gale Online's shooting accuracy all depended on heartbeat. Woozi's heartbeat never raced or panicked, so he was fine. He aims at a player who thinks he's okay, but he's just hiding behind a car and away from the chaos. Woozi smirks triumphantly. His finger pulls the trigger and the bullet shoots straight into the player's head just as Woozi's other teammate, The8, kills the last player on the opposing team. Victory music blars through the arena and their team name pops up in bright white letters. There's a loud chorus of cheers from the field just as Woozi gets up from his tree with a small smile.

"Woozi!" The8 runs towards his tree, his velvet red locks bouncing happily. "We did it!"

"Mhm." Woozi smiles happily at him. The8 was like a younger brother to him in the virtual world. They were together since they started as rookies in GGO. The8's name was in the Gunner's Hall of Fame as well; ironically ranking at number 8. Looking happy, the boy jumps into the tree. His agility skill was maxed. He envelops Woozi in a happy hug.

The8 beams, "I'm so happy to have you here with me."

"Me too, The8. Me too." Woozi responds.

 

 **──┄──┄** **⋆** ***୨୧*ʚ♡⃛ɞ*୨୧*⋆──┄──┄**   

 

Everyone thought they knew Lee Jihoon.

Everyone thought Lee Jihoon was quiet. They thought he was cold, like ice. Some people say that they touched his hand on accident once and it felt colder than the temperature on Neptune. Their high school knew Jihoon as the Ice Prince, because he seemingly hated everything. He always had a bored look in his gaze and emitted a "I don't care for your existence" type of aura. His dark brown eyes could make holes in his papers. Many made absurd rumors about him. Someone said he was secretly a ghost who somehow took human shape. Or there was the rumor that Jihoon was Lucifer and that he was just waiting to kill everyone and send them to hell - and honestly, a lot of girls ( and boys ) at his school would enjoy being sent to hell by the Ice Prince. Yes, Jihoon was feared, yet crushed on. Jihoon's friends didn't find any sense in this logic. Jihoon didn't really care for the rumors. He just wanted to get through school, get through college and possibly get through life.

Jihoon may have looked like he didn't care about anything, but he did. He cared about life to an extent. And he also cared a lot about video games. Jihoon was raised with the classics: Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Centipede etc. He was one of those retro kids who loved arcades as a middle schooler. Most of his money went to exchanging them for quarters just so he could mess around with his friends. Those were the times he cherished the most. As he grew up, technology advanced and came out with a new item that would change the video game world forever: Virtual Reality. Jihoon wasn't addicted to Virtual Reality as much as some were. He didn't dive for twenty-four hours and he certainly didn't forget about his schoolwork just for a video game.

Jihoon currently sat in his AP Physics class, listening to the teacher drone on and on about kinetic and potential energy. He was a straight A student who survived on fifty cups of espresso. It wasn't exactly the healthiest lifestyle. His friend, Boo Seungkwan, often yelled about needing beauty sleep and things like that. An older friend, Yoon Jeonghan, lectured Jihoon usually once a week about sleep hours. Jihoon was perfectly fine with only around two to three hours of sleep. He usually got home around five after school club activities. He did homework and studied for a few hours. Then he would be playing video games. He had to keep up his skills, and he loved playing the role of a digital character. Jihoon would sleep around four in the morning, sleep for a few hours and wake up for time to drink coffee and get himself ready for school. It was a delicate balance that always kept Jihoon awake through boring subjects like Physics.

"You must be able to comprehend energy. Energy is something that makes the world go around." His teacher, Ms. Flynn, says. She continues scribbling some notes for the students to remember. Her handwriting was doctor-like, written in neat script that almost no one could read. No one complained though. It wasn't worth it when the information was on the majestical thing called the internet. She continues with her lecture. "Energy is life. We perform examples of kinetic and potential energy everyday by moving. Can someone give me an example of potential energy?"

Jihoon looks at Lee Seokmin. He raises his hand so high, that he could probably hit the ceiling if he tried. Seokmin was a smiley idiot who Jihoon hung around with for some reason. He also dated an underclassman named Boo Seungkwan. Seokmin and Seungkwan had an odd dynamic. They were close, complimenting each other's personalities like the clouds and the skies. They had met a year ago. Seungkwan decided to ask Seokmin out on a date as a joke, the elder accepted, and they both ended up falling in love with each other. Most could see them holding hands in the hallways or sharing laughter. They were voted School's Best Couple and the principal awarded them with the privilege to the school's surprise. Being gay, lesbian, transgender or anything of the sort was normal at Jihoon's high school. Everyone was accepted for their oddness - well, except Jihoon. Jihoon was thought to be straight because he rejected every man who asked him out. But, he also rejected every girl who wanted to hold his hand.

"Does sitting around and playing video games count as potential energy?" Seokmin asks with that giant eye smile.

Ms. Flynn puts a fake thinking expression before responding. "Yes, and no. You could be doing more than just moving your fingers. For example, your body has the capability of running. But you are releasing energy with your fingers."

Seokmin looks confused as if he didn't understand a word the woman just said. "So I'm not moving and yet I'm moving?"

"Correct, Lee Seokmin."

"But what if I'm sitting there and doing nothing?"

"That's an example of potential energy. Good job. Now someone give me an example of kinetic energy." Ms. Flynn looks barely satisifed with Seokmin's response, but she accepts it. Her tiger gaze glares around the room before she sees Choi Seungcheol, a senior, on his phone in the back. Seungcheol decided to take Chemistry as a Junior and Physics as a Senior. The perks of having a Senior in a Junior class is that they could give intelligent input, most of the time at least. Seungcheol spent most of his time hitting on the younger males. Jihoon was definitely one of his targets. Mrs. Flynn huffs, putting her hand out in a gesture for the older male to hand over his box-like iPhone. "Hand over the phone, Mr. Choi. You're supposed to be paying attention."

Seungcheol looks up from his phone; quickly shutting out a dick pic that someone in Junior year had sent him. "I wasn't on my phone, ma'am." He looks innocent.

"Hand it over, now." Ms. Flynn is losing her patience.

The ravenette male sighs, getting up from his seat. He passes by Jihoon's chair with a wink before placing the tiny black box in the teacher's hands. Jihoon fake gags in uninterest. He doesn't want anything to do with Choi Seungcheol. Jihoon wasn't exactly a person who liked people. He didn't like people who wasted time on electronics during school time. He also didn't like people who flirted on a whim, as a joke or based on a person's looks. To summarize. Jihoon hated a lot of people and a lot of things. The list of the things he liked was very short. The list of things he hated could probably circle the Earth one hundred times - Choi Seungcheol was on the list - that's how much he hated the existence of life.

The bell rings. Jihoon shuts his binder with a sigh. He stuffs it in his backpack and stands up from his seat before walking straight into Seungcheol's broad chest. He steps back, glaring up at the older male with no sign of fear in his eyes. He meets his gaze, silence insues for a few seconds. The Senior sneezes into his arm because he was always told to so people wouldn't get sick. Seungcheol decides to speak first and stop trying to make the younger male speak to him. He coughs awkwardly, how smooth.

"How's it going, cutie?" Seungcheol tries to be smooth talking.

"This is worse than your attempt yesterday." Jihoon says, looking irritated.

"Did you get the flowers I hung on your locker?" Seungcheol is none to say, rich. He worked a lot in his family company. He often brought gifts for the younger, feisty male. "I heard moon flowers were your favorite, Seokmin told me."

Jihoon glares at his friend, who gives an apologetic smile.

"He bribed me with new music equipment! I couldn't resist!" Seokmin looks sorry, to say the least.

"So that means you told this stalker everything about me." Jihoon facepalms in disbelief. He can definitely count on Seokmin to keep him confidential. Yep.

"I'm not a stalker, Lee Jihoon. I just want to court you." Seungcheol speaks with fake hurt. "You know, make you mine. Treat you right and be your man."

"You want to court everyone, stop giving me gifts," Jihoon turns to leave the bedroom but the male grabs his shoulder, halting him. Jihoon stiffens at the body contact. If school rules didn't exist, the older male would be thrown out the window with no regrets. Seungcheol was a lot more flirty today and it was getting on his nerves.

"But you're special, you can sing. You can dance and write songs. No one in the grade can do that." Seungcheol's lips are curled into a shit eating smirk. "You can do everything that no one in this grade can't do. You're feisty, and I absolutely adore that."

"Go jump off a cliff, I don't like you." Jihoon glares at the taller.

This elicits a laugh. "What, were the chocolates not good enough?" Seungcheol was being a persistent sack of shit, and he knew it. But, Seokmin told him that Jihoon was whipped for chocolate. That's another thing to know about Lee Jihoon. Jihoon was always seen with Hershey bars stuck in his mouth during lunch period. And seconds later, the whole bar would be devoured. Seungcheol thought that expensive Godiva chocolate would've gotten him - but he clearly thought wrong.

"I gave them to a homeless man near my house." Jihoon smacks his hand off his shoulder. "I'm not interested in trivial things." Jihoon was telling the truth. He didn't like gifts. He wasn't a person who wanted to be spoiled. Jihoon didn't have much feelings at all. He just sat, went through with life, went home, played video games, and repeat. Jihoon didn't have room for a lover. He considered himself to be a person that has no interest in guys or girls. Most of Jihoon's peers ostracized him. Jihoon loved video games more than getting into someones pants. Said male didn't mind being the odd one out. There simply wasn't time for a third party in Jihoon's delicate balance. He was single. He wanted to keep it that way.

"Are you interested in me?" Seungcheol smirks. "I'm not exactly a trivial thing, baby."

"No, I'm not." Jihoon deadpans. When would this guy _ever_ stop? Oh, right. Never.

"I could make you interested if you gave me a chance." he wraps an arm around Jihoon's waist just as another Senior barges into the classroom. His hair is jet black, with a bobcut. He grabs Seungcheol's hand and flicks his forehead. In response, Seungcheol whines and gives the newcomer a pouty face.

"Thank goodness for your existence, Jeonghan hyung." Jihoon heaves a sigh of relief. Jeonghan was an upperclassman. He was somehow friends with Seungcheol. Jeonghan was also one of the only people who was close to Jihoon. People still think that Jeonghan is a miracle worker. He is the Class President and he can talk to Jihoon without getting the famous Lee Resting Bitch Face. Jeonghan was saintly, in most people's eyes.

"You dumbass, why are you hitting on yet _another_ junior? I receive enough complaints as Class President." Jeonghan's voice is harsh, not to the point of unforgiving but to the extent of putting Seungcheol in his place.

"He's special!" Seungcheol protests.

Jeonghan rolls his eyes, dragging the male out of the classroom while shooting an apologetic look at Jihoon. "I'll see you later Hoonie!"

Jihoon waves dully. He turns to Seokmin while glaring eye daggers at him. He just couldn't grasp onto the fact that Seokmin leaked all of Jihoon's likes and interests to Choi Seungcheol, one of the number one idiots in the school - yet he's in Advanced Placement classes. Seungcheol was actually intelligent, he just acted like a fourth grade boy trying to be cool. Jihoon stalks towards his friend; a notebook in his hand. Seokmin knows what's coming for him and he quickly dashes out of the classroom with Jihoon in hot pursuit. Meanwhile, while all of this happened, Ms. Flynn just sat on his computer and watched boredly. Watching student conflicts was sometimes more interesting than a subject she had a degree in.

"You need to give me one reason to why I shouldn't tear your hair out." Jihoon mutters to his friend. He stalks towards Seokmin who is already running out of the door.

Ms. Flynn watches the two young men retreat - and all she does is chuckle. "Such a weird generation."

Meanwhile, the smiley idiot was running for his life. He turns a bunch of corners while his backpack bounces on his back. Seokmin yells behind him, capturing the attention of the surrounding students. "I'm sorry hyung!" He pleads for dear life. "Don't hurt me- OH DEAR GOD!"

Jihoon turned the corner and he was carrying an expensive looking acoustic guitar. It was wielded like a baseball bat. He's running at probably twice the speed of a fucking Lamborgini. Seokmins squeaks in terror; retreating as high pitched girly screams come from his vocalist throat. Some students give Seokmin looks of pity. Some facepalm. These events were regularly occuring. It was too normal at this point to even react. Most students go on with their business. Except an upperclassman, named Hong Jisoo. Jisoo chases after Jihoon, yelling something about wanting his guitar back.

And around a few seconds later, Jihoon chases Seokmin into a supply closet. Jisoo gives up and heads to his next class. And all the students heard was Seokmin getting beaten up for the segue into the next period. Ms. Flynn heard the yells. Other teachers heard the yells. No one bothered to help poor ol' Lee Seokmin.

It was a weird world indeed.

Sixth period was lunch. And all that meant was a bunch of sweaty teenagers being rounded up into a cafeteria that was way too small to fit. One could hear the bustling noises of teenagers engaged in conversation. Some girls were gossiping. Some guys were talking about the next football game. Some were smoking in the corners while the lunch monitors pretended not to notice. The lunch ladies were heating up the ovens and serving food - that look like it came from a dumpster - while flashing fake smiles to customers. And motivational posters were hung all over the walls, and no one ever paid attention to them. It was your average everyday high school.

Jihoon walks to his usual table; plopping into his seat with his brown bagged lunch. He hated buying school lunches. School lunches tasted worse than the one time he accidentally drank wine from his mom's glass, and he thought it was water. He swore to himself to never drink alcohol. His parents would throw a fit; Hong Jisoo would throw a fit. Jihoon wasn't one who liked being talked down upon, so he restricted himself from doing anything stupid as a result. It was working out pretty well. His parents left him alone. Jisoo didn't yell about alcohol. Jeonghan yelled at Jihoon for not having correct sleeping habits, but that was Yoon Jeonghan for you.

Seokmin comes and sits next to Jihoon; a giant black mark on his shoulder. He looks at his hyung with a sad face. The bruise didn't hurt. It was the fact that Jihoon actually went through with the threat of beating him up with "that Jesus guy's" guitar. Seokmin didn't think Jihoon was serious. He thought it was just a joke to scare him into doing what the smaller man wanted. He quickly pushed the memory of Jihoon bashing his face in with a guitar. At least he had returned the beautiful guitar to its' owner. Seokmin felt relieved though. Jihoon usually carried out his evil plans on an underclassman named Kim Mingyu - and Seokmin wasn't sure if it was because Mingyu was taller than him or not.

"Jihoonie hyung, I can't believe you actually went through with your threat." Seokmin frowns. "You usually attack Mingyu, not me!"

Jihoon looks at Seokmin and he almost falls out of his seat. "I usually wouldn't, but you told Seungcheol all about me."

Seokmin never frowned. He always had a stupid smile on his face. There was reason why Jihoon called him smiley idiot and that was the reason why. Seokmin could go through hell and back, and still be happy - even if it was fake. Although, Jihoon admired him in a way. Seokmin could act. He was a magnificant actor. Seokmin could tell everyone he was okay and everyone would believe him. Seokmin's eyes turned into crescent moons when he smiled. His whole face would smile. Jihoon knew Seokmin's past, and he knew that Seokmin was once faking all his smiles. But, he was so used to smiling, that he didn't have to fake it. His smiles always looked real. Only Jihoon and Seokmin's boyfriend had seen Seokmin in pieces. How he stopped smiling for just one night.

"He offered new music recording equipment, and he actually came through with it. I now have an awesome headset and microphone! Seokmin beams happily. "Maybe you should give him a chance, Jihoon. He might actually be-"

"No." Jihoon cuts him off. "He only wants me for my appearance. He barely knows me. He gives gifts to everybody. He's a player, and you know that just as well as I do."

The younger man sighs, "you're right." Looking upset for a second, Seokmin resumes smiling as he takes a sip of his water. Soon, the table is filled. Seokmin's boyfriend, Seungkwan arrives. Senior Yoon Jeonghan and Hong Jisoo fill the remaining space. They all eat food and laugh. Seungkwan and Seokmin making corny jokes. They were the comedy couple. Jeonghan and Jisoo smile, giving good advice and spreading positivity. They were the angelic couple. Jihoon sits with his brownies, eating them while listening to his friends talk. Jihoon was definitely the third wheel here ... or was it fifth wheel? He couldn't count.

"Seokmin's face looks like a horse." Seungkwan hops on Seokmin's back. "Move, slave."

Seokmin stands up, forcing his boyfriend off his back. "I'm sorry baby, but someone beat the shit out of me today with a guitar. My back is out. I'll give you a piggyback ride tomorrow." Seokmin pecks the very angry Seungkwan's lips.

"But you're a slave. I can sit on you whenever I want." Seungkwan scowls.

"You can sit in my lap." Seokmin suggests with a not so sexy eyebrow wiggle.

"Get a room you crazy kids," Jisoo cuts into their conversation like a knife.

He looks at the two underclassmen. "Save it for the locker room." Jisoo holds his guitar, making sure it doesn't get anywhere near Jihoon. "I had to disinfect my poor child this morning too. I don't want to see Seungkwan sitting in Seokmin's lap." Jisoo hugs the instrument tightly. He really loved his acoustic guitar.

"I will break the strings off that stupid guitar." Seungkwan retorts.

Jisoo gasps. "Seokmin, control your boyfriend."

"I'm too beat."

"I love how he values a guitar more than me." Jeonghan rolls his eyes at the younger.

"No. That's a lie and you know it, Hannie." Jisoo hugs Jeonghan tightly, forgetting Seungkwan's threat immediately.

Jihoon feels awkward, he's not in a relationship so it was difficult to relate to any of his friends. He remains silent; quietly eating while thinking about going on Gun Gale Online and seeing his Virtual Reality little brother; The8. Jihoon smiles at the thought. No one exchanged real names so Jihoon always addressed him by his screen name. The8 always addressed him as hyung. Jihoon didn't understand what "The8" meant until he had explained it to him. The8 was Chinese, and the "8" in his name meant infintiy in his family. So, he selected The8 as a way of saying "the infinity." Jihoon found this adorable. He was buried in his thoughts until Seungkwan and Seokmin decided to have an animal imitation contest. Or, it was an imitation contest. Until Seungkwan decided to be a diva.

"I am the best." Seungkwan stands and does a diva pose. He puckers his lips, imitating a twelve year old. Seokmin falls over laughing; standing next to him and swaying his hips as laughter erupted from all sides of the table. Both men decide to start dancing, horribly. Jisoo plays some old seventy's music and the chaos unfolds. Within seconds, Seungkwan and Seokmin are on the floor with Jeonghan's banana milk somehow spilled on their heads. Jisoo immediately shuts his music off, being the friendly friend he is. He grabs a towel from his backpack (how did he get a towel anyway?) and he goes to help the couple. Jeonghan is too busy laughing and pointing a finger to help. Jihoon is just enjoying his snacks.

While Jisoo helped Seungkwan and Seokmin clean up, Jeonghan turns to the silent Jihoon. He takes out his fancy, laminated Student Council President folder and opens it. Jihoon raises an eyebrow in curiosity. His eyes scanning over the paper's while he stuffed another brownie in his mouth. It read something about "New Student Information". Jeonghan usually handled the new students; he was the President. But why did he have the folder out.. and why was Jihoon's name written in the paper margins? Jihoon opens his mouth to speak when the older and highly more feminine male cuts him off.

"I know you're going to ask why I have you written. It's because I'm making you in charge of the new student tomorrow. You have all of your classes with him." Jeonghan pours the information out like a waterfall. He takes the student information paper out and slides it over to Jihoon without question. "And don't bother rejecting it, the schedule was put in place. Besides, you need to be more social."

All of the information slaps Jihoon hard in the face. He scans over the paper, reading the name of the student and anything else there was about him:

 

 **Student Name:** Kwon Soonyoung

 **Grade:** Eleventh

 **Previous School:** N/A

 **Last Semester Grade:** Straight A+'s in everything ; average of 100

 **Tour Time:** Periods 3-8

 

"He sounds painfully smart, he's probably a smart ass. I don't work well with know-it-alls. Hell, I don't work well with people. If he corrects me I'm sending him out the window." Jihoon glares at Jeonghan, highly pissed that he was scheduled to give a tour without his own consent. "I don't need to be more social, you're not my mother."

"What if I am, huh?" Jeonghan sasses. "I could secretly be a woman right now. I'm a fucking ninja."

"I'm pretty sure that's a lie." Jihoon replies. He sighs; glancing over the tour papers again. At least he would be missing a few classes that he detested. It was all good. Period 4 was Calculus and Jihoon hated Calculus more than he hated Choi Seungcheol - okay maybe not that much.

"Just please, Jihoon. You could make a new friend." Jeonghan shoots his friend a sad face.

"But, I'm happy with you guys." Jihoon protests.

"You only see Jisoo and I during lunch. Seokmin was lucky he got into Physics with you, and you only see Boo during chorus." Jeonghan explains. "You need a friend with you in all your classes, or at least a few. Soonyoung has a lot of classes with you. He could be your new study buddy."

"You sound like my mom right now." Jihoon murmurs.

"How do I sound like your mom when you and I both know for a fact that your mom couldn't careless about what you do with yourself? " Jeonghan snaps. He cared a lot about Jihoon. He knew a lot of things about the younger boy. They had met in middle school. Jihoon was a younger sixth grader and Jeonghan was in seventh grade. They ended up in Chorus together and became close friends immediately because of their passions. However, they began drifting when Jeonghan graduated. When Jihoon came to the high school, he was living in a virtual reality. Jeonghan just wanted for him to find someone to bring him out of that headspace. It wasn't healthy.

"I just see you as one of my closest friends, and a younger brother. I care about you, okay? Your parents might not. But I do." He confesses, looking down.

There was an eerie silence between the two. Jihoon is the first to break the silence.

"Thank you for giving a shit. I'll do the tour tomorrow, but I'm doing it for you. I'm not doing it for this new kid." Jihoon says quietly, taking the papers and putting them neatly in his backpack.

Jeonghan smiles with gratitude. "Thank you."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading the first chapter of Game On (To Win My Heart).  
> Please leave kudos and comments/critique, those are highly appreciated!


	2. SHINee10Don't

Jihoon went home that night. He didn't know what to think about showing the new kid a tour around the school. He didn't what to think about the fact that Jeonghan signed him up without his approval. He was just buried in his own thoughts. Jihoon's footsteps were light, fast. The glowing pavement was fresh from rainfall. He's a little bit confused because he didn't hear or see any rain fall. He probably tuned it out because during class, he was mostly buried in his own thoughts. Thoughts of life, and probably not the subject of whatever was being taught. Seashells were in his ears, playing some song that he wasn't paying attention to either. His mind was only on the fact that he was going to forced to socialize with someone tomorrow.

He inhaled the scent of the fresh rain, smelling oddly refreshing. The smell of rain was something that Jihoon couldn't live without. Most gamers hated the outdoors. They locked themselves in their rooms, endlessly controlling some pixelated character that they created. Their grades dropped. Some dropped out of school and gamed for the rest of their lives, being socially isolated from the world. It were those type of people who gave video games a bad reputation. There were so many people who dropped out of school just to game - and stalk their online crushes - that the Board of Mental Health was going to begin diagnosing people with Video Game Disorder. Jihoon facepalmed when the news was given, because it wasn't a disorder, it was a choice. It was the person's choice to drop out of life. Jihoon would probably be diagnosed with the disorder, because he usually gamed instead of sleeping. But his grades were fine and there wasn't any reason for him to be diagnosed. People often judged him for not playing sports. Jihoon felt like wasting his time studying instead of running around and creating a sweat factory in his body. That was just a no no.

Jihoon kicked a Pepsi can over while silently cursing the person who littered it. "Whoever threw this can is worth even less then the can itself." He watches the can land a few feet away before kicking it again with a small chuckle. Jihoon finally remembers that he isn't a kid anymore; and that he's in public. If any students saw him having fun kicking a can around, it would be a headline. He was going to pick it up and place in a nearby recycling bin before hearing someone familiar yell. It was Seokmin.

"Starlight kick!" Seokmin dashes to the can and his foot collides with the can - and for some reason Seokmin isn't wearing socks, Jihoon notes this. The can flies into the air, around 10 feet or so. It spins a few circles before colliding with the recycle bin. It ricochets back and forth within the container until it finally hits the bottom of the bin. Jihoon facepalms as soon as he hears the can hit the bottom of the bin.

"I guess no one recycles anymore," he thinks outloud. Jihoon looks at his friend with boredness in his eyes. "Why," he mutters, more to himself than Seokmin.

"Just because," Seokmin shrugs. The smiley idiot pretends to not have heard what the older had said. "I felt like it! That's a good reason." And there's that stupid eye-smile.

"Why do I put up with you and your bullshit?" Jihoon rolls his eyes, flicking the younger man on his forehead. and eliciting a whine from him "I really should've murdered you with Jisoo's guitar. Just beating you up with it isn't enough. Perhaps it would work if I beat you up until the strings broke."

"Jisoo hyung was stupid to tell you he had a Carvin branded guitar. Do you know how much that thing is worth?" Seokmin says, plopping in the grass and checking his fingernails. He looks up at Jihoon and motions for him to sit down. Surprisingly, Jihoon sits down across from him. Seokmin continues to speak. "Carvin guitars are never identical. He had that instrument custom made." Seokmin emphasizes the last bit. "Jisoo hyung would murder you."

"Jisoo hyung is too nice to murder anyone," Jihoon counters.

Seokmin shrugs again. "Then, Jeonghan hyung would murder you."

"That lazy ass of a Council President is too lazy to do anything." Jihoon looks slightly irritated. "He would be too lazy laughing his ass off to even think about his boyfriend's feelings."

"Hm, you're right. Jeonghan would laugh his ass off and then murder you." Seokmin corrects him.

"Maybe, maybe not." Jihoon glares daggers. "Should we find out?" He stands up from the ground and immediately gets ready to fight the younger man.

"No, I'm still aching from this morning." Seokmin whines, not moving from his spot. "And why me? Can't you take your anger out on Mingyu?"

"Mingyu hasn't done anything to me in a while. You spilled everything about me to that stupid baby in a senior body." Jihoon enters a small calculation session in his mind. Mingyu hasn't done much of anything to piss Jihoon off. The only thing he's done recently was breathe and exist. Mingyu was fine, however. He broke his record of "Not Calling Jihoon Hyung A Shrub" in the past week and Jihoon was proud. On the other hand, Seokmin doesn't usually piss Jihoon off. But, telling everything to a cringey senior? That deserved capital punishment. Jihoon was already mad enough, trying to keep some secrets from his friends. He had grades to keep. People to kill. He had no time for Choi Seungcheol - and yet, Lee Seokmin egged the man on. Jihoon now had a billion reasons to kick Seokmin off the face of the Earth. "Yep, you're on the top of my hitlist now." He says before gathering his belongings.

"Is it bad that I'm crossing my fingers that the new kid tomorrow will replace me on the top of your hit list?" Seokmin questions; a small, sheepish laugh following. He scratches the back of his head nervously.

"Maybe, no promises." Jihoon looks in the distance. "I still can't believe that Jeonghan is making me do this."

"Jeonghan hyung just wants the best for you. He wants you to go through high school with no regrets." Seokmin states, smiling once more. "With the way you're going, you're going to have plenty of regrets. What if this boy is nice? He could be a potential love interest."

Jihoon glares at him again. "No, a lover will only get in my way. I don't want anyone to interrupt my delicate balance!" He completely shuts him down. Jihoon was not interested in having anyone to love him. He was fine being a fifth wheel.

"You sure, Jihoon?" Seokmin gets his things and stands up. He turns to the opposite direction of Jihoon's house. "Your actions say different," he pats his head. It was more of a friendly, caring gesture. But Jihoon took head pats as a mocking of his height.

Jihoon looks up at him threatingly. "I don't want a fucking lover you stupid braindead-"

Seokmin is already walking away "I have to go, bye hyung. Stop lying to yourself" And just like that, Seokmin was gone.

Jihoon didn't even have anything to say to the smiley idiot. He scowls. His body turning to continue walking home. He doesn't even admire the scenery like he usually does. He just wants to go home and get ready to go back on Gun Gale. Jihoon wanted to see The8. He didn't have any homework, so tonight would be a good night to play. The8 was usually on around 7:30. It was currently 4:45. Jihoon would have enough time to rest, eat, shower and do some music practice. He also wanted to have time alone. School lasted for far too long, and he was surrounded by people he didn't particularly care for. His parents were never home so they never cared about what Jihoon did. Jihoon would have the house to himself. And the small man can't help but smile at the thought. Alone. That's how he liked it.

He soon arrives at a corner, the two conjoining street signs together and the traffic light on red. Jihoon looks around; making sure it's safe to cross the street. Streets were crazy in his neighborhood. It was like a free for all between lions and one gazelle in the center. No one paid attention to traffic lights or pedestrian signs. There was even a sign hung on the traffic light in vivid letters. ' **STOP BEING BLIND AND PAY ATTENTION TO THE DAMN TRAFFIC LIGHTS.'** Jihoon still remembers how the sign was placed just last year because the car accident record had broke and it was all because of that one intersection. Jihoon waits until it's completely safe to cross the road. He still looks at the glowing pavement as his feet touch the cement. He looks up. He sees the most gorgeous person he's ever seen in his existence of existing.

The person is a man. He's taller than Jihoon by a long shot, but he's shorter than Mingyu. His raven black hair falls like feathers, shaping his face perfectly. His eyebrows match his hair; and his skin is beautiful - like caramel, but lighter - and his lips are a pretty peach color. He has large feet, may or may not be larger than Jihoon's. And the last most significiant thing was his eyes. His eyes were small but they were the biggest and most full of life. His hand grips a cell phone to his ear; and his lips curve upwards into the most amazing smile in existence. Even his eyes turn into crescent moons. Jihoon is already so captivated by this man, that an incoming car has to beep to snap him out of his dreamlike state. Jihoon hears the horn and he immediately dashes over to the otherside of the street, where the handsome man was.

Jihoon coughs awkwardly, thinking about how handsome the stranger was. He gets himself together before walking past the taller as if nothing ever happened. The stranger was a lot more handsomer than one of Jihoon's squadmates, RapsolChwe. RapsolChwe was always bragging about his visuals. Jihoon admitted that the Korean-American halfer was goodlooking, but damn, the taller stranger would knock RapsolChwe out of the park. Jihoon would have a lot to yell at his squadron about tonight. Then, he finally remembers that he's in public - and if anyone from his school saw him gawking at a male, they would go ballistic. Most of the people would probably get on their knees and practically worship the guy.

Jihoon continues to walk but the stranger shuts his phone off and calls out to him. "Ah, excuse me?" He's turned in the direction where Jihoon's walking.

The shorter man freezes in his tracks. He bites his lip nervously before turning around to face him. Their eyes lock together. As awkward as Jihoon was, he was always taught that eye contact was super important when speaking with a stranger. It would leave a good impression. "May I help you?" Jihoon asks. Jihoon decides to name the taller man, "Handsome". Because damn, that boy was so hot, that Jihoon could probably cook his dinner on him.

Handsome nods. "Do you live around here? I'm trying to find where my younger brother is currently living right now, but I think I'm lost." He gives an embarrassed smile.

Stranger danger was thrown out the window. Jihoon nods, "yes." He doesn't really know how to respond. Stranger danger was a think. But Handsome seemed too friendly to hurt somebody. Jihoon has basically thrown all sense of childhood logic into the garbage. "But how do I know you aren't lying to me? You could be a stalker." Okay, he still seems to have logic.

Handsome chuckles, and his laugh is like music to Jihoon's ears, He pats Jihoon's head. "My younger brother is Lee Chan. He attends Pledis East, which is a school around here."

Pledis East. Lee Chan. Jihoon was aquainted with Chan, and no one even knows that the young man even had a brother. Jihoon's lips form into an "O" shape. Jihoon nods at Handsome. "Lee Chan is a freshman, right? I know him. I don't exactly know where he lives though."

"430 Highlight Boulevard." Handsome reads off his phone. "Do you know where that is?"

Jihoon nearly loses it. He lived on Highlight Boulevard. His house was number 427. He would be living right across the street from Handsome. Jihoon didn't know how to feel, so he kept his fanboying on the inside. "I actually live on the same street. Follow me." Jihoon turns down a road that he knew well. Handsome smiles brightly and follows behind him. Both males remain silent through the whole walk. Jihoon didn't know what to say because of how awkward he was. Handsome was just admiring the scenery. Jihoon used to do the same, but it had grown old seeing the same trees over and over again.

"It's beautiful here, I truly enjoy the relaxing atmosphere. It's so different than my old city." Handsome comments, trying to make some type of conversation.

Jihoon doesn't face him, but he speaks. "Where are you from?"

"I used to live in Tokyo. I studied abroad there for a year. It's a lot livelier than here. It's a nice change." He stops to look at a bush of flowers, each pigmented a different unique hue.

"Do you like flowers?" Jihoon questions seeing him examine the plants. "Those flowers look better during a certain time of year. You have to wait until it warms up a little."

"That's what I thought," Handsome goes back to following Jihoon to where he wanted to go.

They arrive at 430 Highlight Boulevard. Handsome smiles at Jihoon thankfully. "Thank you, I assume you're going to be living in one of the houses across from me."

"Mhm, I guess I'll see you around right?" Jihoon doesn't really know what to say so he decides to be friendly. "I do live across the street, so I might see you sometimes.

"Hopefully, you're very nice. Thanks again for all of your help though." Handsome turns to knock on the door. He sees Jihoon walking to his house before calling out. "Wait!"

"Huh?" Jihoon turns to him, a bit confused. "Yes?" His heart began to race. Jihoon began to think that he dropped the Handsome male off at the wrong house.

"What's your name?" Handsome asks Jihoon. He's still smiling as if Jihoon was his best friend. He just had good manners, that was all. He doesn't notice Jihoon heaving the largest sigh of relief.

Jihoon is dying on the inside. He doesn't really know this man, so he tells him the nickname that Seungcheol sometimes calls him. "You can call me Uji." Jihoon smiles a little. He silently prays, hoping that Handsome wouldn't ruin the great impression he enstowed onto Jihoon.

"Uji? Sounds good, you kind of seem like the top to be named Uji," Handsome said it in a not-irritating way; a small chuckle follows after. Seungcheol said it too sweetly that it made Jihoon gag. Handsome's voice was sweet and velvety. He gently knocks on the door so his little brother would let him in the house. "Call me Hoshi, Uji."

"Hoshi? Okay." Jihoon turns to walk across the road to his own house. He turns around to look at 430 Highlight Boulevard, and Handsome has already disappeared inside the house. He turns back to his own house, a small but welcoming home. It was painted gray and his mother had planted flowers by the mailbox. The flowers were currently wilted since no one had time to water them. The moonflowers looked pretty when it was just the right season. But they only lasted for so long. Jihoon walks by the wilted flowers, along with the poorly cut grass. He opens the front door. To no surprise, the door was unlocked. No one would bother robbing any of the homes on Highlight Boulevard. It was literally a neighborhood watch road. Jihoon closes the front door behind him. It was eerily silent. This was normal.

His parents were never home. His mom was an on-call Psychiatrist. She was always at her office, treating patients and working on papers. She got home at the ungodly hours of the night, and she left in the wee hours of the morning. She never noticed that Jihoon was full diving in his bedroom until 5 o'clock in the morning. She was too busy to even notice what her son did. If Jihoon broke the wall, she wouldn't notice. If Jihoon kissed a girl, she wouldn't notice. If Jihoon killed somebody, she wouldn't notice. She was too wrapped up in her own work to even acknowledge her own son. Jihoon had grown so distant from her, that he began to address her formally by her first name, Hyeri. Hyeri, however. was not as bad as Jihoon's father.

Jihoon's father was named Lee Jaehwan. Jaehwan was never home either because he was always working overseas as a business man. Jaehwan however, always checked in on Jihoon everyday. He called the house, and asked him about his life. Jaehwan was on top of Jihoon's grades, and what his food intake was like. Jihoon's father was aware of the fact that Jihoon was an avid gamer, and he surprisingly accepted it. Jaehwa had grown up as gamer himself, so he understood what Jihoon felt. However, Jaehwan didn't know the extent of Jihoon's activity in the virtual world. He thought Jihoon was a casual player who played for fun, and not competitively. Jihoon could never bring himself to tell his father the truth; even if he was accepting of his unhealthy habits.

Jihoon walks silently through the house. He tosses his backpack onto the floor and proceeds to go through his daily routine. He goes to the kitchen to eat dinner. Jihoon usually microwaved ramen on days like these. He had no homework, so he wanted some time for himself. Jihoon quickly microwaved a cup of ramen before running to the bathroom to wash his face. His eyes were feeling crusty so he had to wipe himself down. Next, he runs to his bedroom to change into a cotton t-shirt and sweatpants. This was his lazy outfit. Finally, the microwave dings and Jihoon grabs his cup of ramen. Mission finished. Jihoon heads to his piano, placing the cup of noodles on a small table next to him. He opens it up, revealing beautiful ivory keys. The piano was a fundamental object of his childhood. He always adored the brown wood and the keys, the sounds it made and it's overall existence. And the fact that the piano was a way for him to escape and just lose himself in the melody. His fingers immediately begin playing the third movement of Moonlight Sonata; his body sways to the song.

Around a few songs later, it's already 7:00. Jihoon decides to log onto Gun Gale early. He runs to his room after ingesting the cup noodles. He plops into his bed, slipping the headgear on like a bracelet. He heaves a deep breath - and he also shifts because he accidentally laid on top of a textbook - and closes his eyes. There's pitch black darkness. Jihoon debates if he should go on earlier than usual, but he didn't really have a reason not to. Jihoon mentally smacks himself in the face. For once, he just lays and stares into complete darkness. He begins to think of Hoshi, the handsome man who looked older and yet he looked younger. Jihoon reddens and shakes his head. Why did he keep thinking about Hoshi? He was just a visiting neighbor. Jihoon gets himself together and stares into the screen before speaking:

"Link, start!" He says. Jihoon knew there a lot of less dramatic ways to turn a Virtual Reality headset on, but Jihoon liked saying those two words. They ment a lot more to him. They represented a lot more than a switch for a game.

The device turns on like magic. All of the sudden, Jihoon sees flashing lights and a portal. He heads towards the portal at high speeds. He's soon on the home screen, where he could choose the game he wanted to enter or look at things from the online e-store. There a lot of things to do with the new technology. Jihoon had a lot of things from the e-store. He didn't really look at the selection anymore. The settings function was a function that he barely visited either. Jihoon looks at his neverending list of games. There were a lot of games he played. A lot he loved, a lot he hated and a lot he didn't care for. Jihoon's favorite worlds were marked with a star; Gun Gale Online was one of his favorite games. He loved the thrill and the happiness of meeting people he could relate to. He met The8, RapsolChwe, Hamburglar and a lot of people with weird names - but they were great people. Jihoon decides to enter Gun Gale Online; and when it gives him the character choice, he goes with his main account: "Woozi".

Woozi and Jihoon were both two completely different people. Woozi was skilled, cunning and intelligent. He was everything that Jihoon wasn't. Jihoon was antisocial, and people were horrified of his existence. Woozi was respected. Woozi was the number one gunman across the gun-shooting VRMMORPGs. Gamers all over the world knew that he existed. People thought that Woozi was a badass geek who lived with his mom. In reality, Woozi was a junior named Lee Jihoon - and Jihoon was infamous. Jihoon loved being Woozi. He liked being the short, feared sniper. He felt happy playing through as a sniper. Jihoon couldn't say that he regretted entering the VRMMORPG world. It changed him and his personaliy for the better. The only minor was that Jihoon barely got any sleep anymore, but that was fine.

 

**──┄──┄⋆*୨୧*ʚ♡⃛ɞ*୨୧*⋆──┄──┄**

 

Woozi warped into the main lobby. He appeared in a secluded area, his loyal Hectate II on his back. His strawberry pink hair falling over his head. His eyes are almond shaped, pupils brown. He had a pretty short height of 5'3, shorter than his real world counterpart. Woozi's armor consisted of simple things. A black long sleeved shirt hugged his torso. He wore black jeans after that. He wore military boots on his feet. A grenade belt was sleeved in around his pants. Woozi had simple armor. Woozi had complictated weapons. Most people hated that. Woozi loved this avatar base. Woozi's avatar was agility and defense based by default. His simple armor provided plenty of protection and camouflage. Even though The8 suggested better armor for the smaller man, Woozi kept his simple black ensemble.

He checks his friends list to see if anyone was online. To his surprise, The8 was on early. No one else was on, which was normal. RapsolChwe wouldn't be on until 8pm. Another member, named DinoTheDino, wouldn't be on until 8:30 because he was a freshman and he prioritized games first. Woozi also had a friend named Hamburglar. Now, Hamburglar had a very stoic disposition. Woozi found out that Hamburglar attended the same school as Jihoon, and that his real name was Jeon Wonwoo. However, Jihoon never mentioned it to Wonwoo. He didn't want to tell Wonwoo that he was the top player in VRMMORPG history. Wonwoo probably wouldn't believe him anyway. No one would. Jihoon wasn't known to be a gamer. He was the Ice Prince. Woozi didn't want to be called the Ice Prince. He just wanted to be addressed as normal. But people don't usually get what they want.

Woozi messages The8.

 **Woozi:** 8!

 **The8:** Oh hi hyung, you're on early.

 **Woozi:** Yeah, I don't have homework tonight.

 **The8:** That's good... and bad.

 **Woozi:** How is it bad? We can do more PVP battles and such.

 **The8:** Well, have you seen the Gunner's Hall of Fame sign? It's been updated.

 **Woozi:** I just logged on, why?

 **The8:** You noticed how the lobby is basically vacant, yeah? Everyones at the Hall of Fame. You have to see this! Warp to me!

 **Woozi:** Okay okay I'm coming.

Woozi warps to The8, immediately appearing by his companions side. He sees basically most of the players for Gun Gale Online in front of the billboard, gawking in amazement. Woozi is a little confused. "The8, what's going on?" He asks. The bustling of background noise is immediately drowned out by Woozi's confusion. He didn't know what to say or do. The8 doesn't respond until Woozi shakes his companion a few more times. "Snap out of it!"

The8 looks at him, baffled. "Look at the player on number two!" He points at the bulletin board with the hall of fame inductees on it. The8 frantically points in the top player section. "Look here!"

Woozi looks up to read the bright, bold letters. The old number two player, 4DGuy, has been removed and replaced. But that wasn't the worst of it. A brand new name replaced 4DGuy. No one even know who he was. The second best player was now "SHINee1010". Woozi referenced that the player was most likely a fan of SHINee, a 5 membered boy group. Woozi read over SHINee1010's stats; and his eyes nearly fell out of his head. SHINee1010's record was very close to Woozi's, and it was too close for comfort. Woozi shifts around awkwardly, still reading the number of wins and losses this guy had.

Player Name: SHINee1010 | Wins: 504 | Losses: 102 | Rank #2

Player Name: Woozi | Wins: 522 | Losses: 94 | Rank #1

SHInee1010 was a new player. He was already close to beating Woozi. Woozi begins trying to draw conclusions to why SHINee1010 had caught up so quickly. SHINee1010 wasn't a hacker, maybe the system made a mistake with the scoring system? All he knows for sure, is that SHINee1010 was definitely a fulldiver. There was no mistaking it. Woozi just had the aching feeling in his gut that SHINee1010 was just like him. They were both divers, and they were pretending to be people they weren't. Woozi felt a little bad for making assumptions, but that was just his character and how he was. SHINee1010 was worth investigating. He hoped that he would meet the gunman in battle. It was prominent.

"SHINee1010 kicked out 4DGuy in the blink of an eye." The8's mouth dropped. "That's just.. wow. And he's so close to knocking you out of first place. 4DGuy wasn't even close to close!" The8 looks at Woozi, eyes wide in astonishment. He couldn't believe that an unknown person could take a well known persons position so quickly in a snap.

"I don't understand how," Woozi speaks. "But we need to up our records. We need to do some PVP matches." He looks stressed. He doesn't want to lose his crown. It sounds selfish, but Woozi loved GGO. He's been apart of the server since it started. He loved the thrill of shooting games, and being a sniper. The8 was a melee type. He was one of the weirdos who fought with a proton sword. But, The8 knew martial arts. He could avoid a thousand bullets if he wanted to. That's how athletic he was.

The8 highfives the older. "Hell yes. We'll beat him so hard that he'll wish his name was SHINee10Dont."

Woozi can't help but facepalm, chuckling quietly. He pats The8's head before taking his friends hand and heading into the queues for PVP.

And within the next 10 minutes, Woozi has won 3 PVPs. He's on queue for another match, and to his desires, it's someone he wants to go against.

 

 **W** **oozi** **vs. SHINee1010**

**Time remaining: 10 seconds**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayo ayo!  
> First official authors note on this fanfiction.  
> I'm really happy with all of the feedback that you guys gave on the last chapter! I can't thank you all enough for the kind words you wrote me. I was going to put this update off until tomorrow, but you guys definitely deserve it!  
> Soonyoung makes his first appearance ohohoho - okay.  
> Please leave kudos and critique! Those are highly appreciated! I will try to reply to you as soon as I can.  
> Thank you for reading Game On (To Win My Heart)!  
> Until next chapter~
> 
> Talk to me on my twitter: @KwonToLee


	3. Match 1: "You Can Snipe My Ass"

Woozi stares blankly up at the illuminated letters. He was going to be up against his rival, someone he loathed even though he only learned of his existence a few moments ago. His chest suddenly begins to heave up in ragged breaths. He feels panicked somehow. For some reason, he feels like he's in an ordeal. Woozi never felt pressured or panicked; in the real or virtual world. Why now, he asked himself. Why did he feel a huge stroke of anxiety when he saw who he was up against next? It was a foreign feeling in his gut. He's only felt anxiety this harsh only once before. And he never wanted that feeling to come back. He hated it more than everything else in the world.

"Damn." He unequips all of his equipment because he doesn't want his rival to see what his main weapons were. Although, he probably knew what he used by now. But it was best to be safe and keep his precious Hecate under secure secrecy. A bright flash appears in front of him and there stood him. SHINee1010.

SHINee1010's avatar was simple, like Woozi. His hair was light blue like the sky. It circled over his head and fell in light flutters. He kind of looked like a blue mushroom. His eyes looked familiar, like crescent moons on a starry night. His skin was a balance of caramel and porcelain. It wasn't too white nor was he too dark. He currently had a big smile on his face, his eyes meeting Woozi's. SHINee1010 simply continues to smile like a big idiot; his weapons hanging proudly on his belt. His smile disappears an curls into a smirk that Woozi wanted to punch off his face. He looked way too happy for Woozi to want to exist anymore. SHINee1010 reminded Woozi of a lot of his friends, and no one would be able to count how many urges Woozi had to punch them in the face.

 

Meanwhile, on the 1 v 1 spectator screens, The8 saw it all. He saw the letters, he saw Woozi standing there, looking like a noob with his avatar yet he was equipped with some of the rarest weapons. The8 wasn't a person with rare weapons. He used a store-brought proton sword that shined red like his beating heart. Lots of players judged him; yet they were usually sliced in half by him before they could even pull the triggers on their rare drop guns. The8 maxed his agillity stats, and what he means by maxed, is that he couldn't even increase the level anymore. Another factor was his in real life skill of martial arts, dancing and b-boying. All his experience in excercise played a significant part in his character build and offense.

As soon as SHINee1010 appeared across from him, The8's jaw simply dropped. He nearly fell over from shock and there were a lot of excited whispers resonating from the crowd. He tuned the whispers out for a moment, going deep in thought. He just watches Woozi, his best friend and SHINee1010, the weird prodigy who somehow knocked 4DGuy off the charts. This would be a battle of the century, a battle of the two top players in Gun Gale Online. And it wasn't just Woozi going up against some random guy who everyone knew was going to lose anymore. It was a prodigy, an unknown, an abnormal. There were so many words that could be used to describe SHINee1010. 

"Holy Mona Lisa wearing my pants on a Mercedez Benz." A voice sounds to the right of The8. His accent is unique, the voice laced with American and Korean. He has messy raven locks and his eyes are a pretty brown, like chocolate. He stares up at the screen, doing the same that The8 was doing. His avatar name, "RapsolChwe" floats above his head before disappearing. "I just got on now and heard the news. Everyone's talking about this."

"Have you heard about your avatar name bug?" The8 glances to the right to look at his squadron member. "Your avatar name keeps appearing and disappearing above your head whenever you teleport and it's been like this for weeks." He forgets about the incoming battle and remembers RapsolChwe's name bug. For some peculiar reason, his avatar name appears above his head for seconds and then disappears. Usually, you wouldn't know the name of someones avatar unless: A) They told you, B) They're in your party or C) You stalk them and you know everything about their avatar and weapons and you can distinguish them from anywhere. Choice C wasn't common, and it was a good thing it wasn't.

"I contacted the administrators and they said they would work on it. They lied." RapsolChwe shrugs as if he didn't have a care in the world. "It doesn't matter though, nor does it make a difference." He motions back to the monitors, a smile on his face. "This is way more important, The8. The top two players are about to murder each other and no one knows who's going to end up winning. Heck, people started betting money."

"Those people have no lives," The8 crosses his arms while staring up at the screen with a nonchalant face. He would die before betting money on who was going to win a match, it wasn't worth betting virtual money on matches. It wasn't worth betting money on anything. The only time The8 bet on something was when he and his boyfriend were arguing over who had more aegyo in their friend group. His boyfriend won, and The8 was twenty dollars in the hole. Ever since then, The8 refused to bet money on anything—and his boyfriend would never leave him alone for losing their bet. Despite being one in virtual reality, The8's boyfriend actually was his very good looking neighbor, Wen Junhui. And to be quite honest, he was considering just selling his house and moving in with Jun; since he spent most of his time over at Junhui's house anyway.

RapsolChwe only shrugs with a lazy smile on his face. He looks at his friend and says, "says the one who fulldives into this reality at night." He pats The8's head. It's a friendly gesture, but the Chinese male glares at his halfer friend, taking a whole 360-degree turn into his alter ego: Thug8.

"You do the same thing too, Rapsol. So shush your face, before I throw you across this entire area." The8 gives RapsolChwe a look that makes the younger man silent—he knew that The8 would love to toss him across the area with no regrets. 

"I'm just really confused, The8. How did SHINee1010 get that many wins and losses in a day?" The8 keeps talking, his voice taking on a confused tone. "He probably fulldived, and he would end his matches quickly. I'm quite curious to see what his weapon lineup is. No one really knows." RapsolChwe remains quiet because he doesn't want to be thrown across the sea of spectators.

"You can speak, Sol. I only wanted you to shut your face since you kind of being a hypocrite. We full dive too." The8 murmurs.

"Oh, I thought you would throw me across the world for speaking." He ignores the ongoing fight in the distance between two guys. One wanted Woozi to win and one wanted SHINee1010 to win. The8 does the same, but he rolls his eyes.

"I wouldn't throw you across the world, dumbass." 

"If I'm a dumbass, what are you going to call those two guys fighting over there?" RapsolChwe asks, smiling like the meme he is.

The8 says without a care in the world, "insignificant." 

"Who do you think is going to win, The8?" The younger asks more questions.

"I really hope Woozi does." 

"Want to bet on it?" He bursts into laughter as the older male punches him in the face. "Ow!"

"No."

The8 internally facepalms and turns to watch the screens. There hasn't been any taunting between Woozi or SHINee1010. They're just having the most intense staredown. It was more intense than the time he and Woozi even met each other. It's hard to believe, but both men hated each other when they first met. Their relationship had been off to a rocky start, but it eventually evolved into the brotherlike bond they shared in the present time. Woozi had seen The8 at his worst, and surprisingly he had been accepting of him when he had fallen apart. The8 really loved him, as a brother and a person who would always be in his heart—even if they haven't met each other face to face yet. 

A wave of silence soon crashes against the shore that was the lobby. SHInee1010 had taunted Woozi.

 

"When I heard about the notorious Woozi, I expected him to be one of those large guys. But you're so small, you're Woozi?" SHINee1010 had said to Woozi with a taunting smile on his face. "You're too cute to be violent!" He rambles on and on about how adorably attractive Woozi was, while said man entered a deep train of angry thought.

Upon hearing these words, Woozi felt really irritated. Out of all things to make fun of, the idiot standing across from him had decided on his appearance. Woozi could be attacked for a lot of things other than his apparent cuteness. First of all, he had his low-class outfit. Plain black clothing with boots wasn't the most flashy ensemble. Woozi also didn't have his equipment out for show, and he couldn't count how many people had gotten salty because he refused to bring out his sniper early. That was an unexplainable logic that he didn't really feel like explaining. It struck a chord with him that he was being attacked for cuteness, out of all things.

"I find it funny how you decide to attack my avatar." The shorter responds. He rolls his eyes sarcastically. No one on GGO has ever called him cute. He has been called cute in the real world, but never ever in virtual reality. Because if someone ever called him cute in GGO, they would immediately be shot to their death. And, everyone knew that.

"I'm not attacking you, I'm complimenting you." SHINee1010 has a shit eating smirk on his face. "I feel conflicted about murdering someone as cute as you." 

"I'll be your worst nightmare." Woozi is hoping that he can't see the blush painted on his face. Was it possible for him to become a cherry? He was about to defy science and become a cherry, his face was as red as the fruit. He couldn't even explain why he was blushing at the idiot's persistent compliments. 

"Bring it on, cutie. You're blushing, so it means you like it." He winks, smirk widening at the blush. He takes the blush as encouragement to continue calling him cute. And he definitely takes note to call him cute in the future if they ever saw each other in a match again. This was a sight he wanted to save in his memory.

"I'm not cute!" Woozi is trying to keep his non existent chill. "I can snipe three people at once!" He wasn't a bragger, but he was stating facts. His bullet has gone through three people at once before. He's had numerous kills and his stats were legendary. Most people would be horrified of going up against him, but not SHINee1010. He was weird.

"A sniper? How adorable." SHINee1010 chuckles. "I've never been sniped to my death before, I wonder how that will go. If you could actually shoot me."

"Are you stupid or are you blind?" Woozi opens his inventory and equips his Hecate, seeing that the timer is slowly dropping to zero. "However, I'm honored to be the first person who's about to snipe your buttnut face off."

"I'm blind because I just found my sun." SHINee1010 watches the shorter man with interest, a smile curling onto his lips. He equips his main weapons as well: a stun gun and a proton sword with the handle made of the finest metal in the game. "Buttnut, that's a new insult. Who came up with it?"

Woozi is becoming very cherry faced. "I'm not the sun, and I came up with the insult, duh." He notes his weapons, a bit confused. A lazer stun gun and a proton sword was very similar to what The8's weapon lineup was. The only difference was that The8 had a backup hand gun and not a stun gun. No one used stun guns. This was extremely foreign to the younger man, which only made him more nervous about the match.

"Then, you're my biorhythm." SHINee1010 adds a black handgun onto his belt with a chuckle. Woozi stares at the handgun. There goes the difference between him and The8. 

"Are you trying to flirt with me?" Woozi hisses. He had never been flirt with before on GGO, only in person. He was becoming increasingly irritated at how rash SHINee1010 was. He felt awfully tempted to just shoot the male right now. The match would be cancelled and no one would get penalized or rewarded. But, that would look bad for him. People would regard him as a marshmellow. And he would rather die then be known as the marshmellow who backed out on a match against SHINee1010.

"Maybe I am, sweetheart." He shrugs. "What's wrong with that?" The man definitely had no problem flirting with someone he just met. 

"There's a lot of things wrong with that! You won't be saying all of these things to me when a bullet is going through your head!" Woozi is shouting at this point and he's sure everyone spectating is making fun of him right now. 

"You can shoot me a thousand times and I would still say the same things, Woozi." SHINee1010 states simply as they begin to glow.

SHINee1010 bursts into laughter and Woozi is unamused. "That's stupid like your existence."

"You can snipe my ass, and I would still love you!" 

The timer drops to zero just as Woozi gives the older male the middle finger. Both men are teleported to the arena, which turns out to be a highway with a bunch of cars littered all over the place. The moon is high in the horizon, it's nighttime.

The match has already started.

 

Woozi retreats to find a hiding spot. He finds a stone wall with moss growing on the side of it. Not being afraid to get dirty, he begins to climb the wall. He skillfully hoists himself over the top to find a few bushes and a good hiding spot. He stations himself there, nervously biting his lip. For the first time in forever, he felt nervous. He wanted to kill the stupid idiot. He never felt more motivated to win a match since he went against The8 in past matches. The8 and Woozi had a competitive bond, a bond that could withstand the test of time and loyalty. They never met in real life, however, because The8 lived in China while Woozi was in Korea. But, they spoke of meeting up once they both graduated college. 

'He's a proton user, like The8. Based on that, he's probably more agility based. I have to keep an eye out, because if he gets close to me, I'm done.' Woozi thinks to himself, eyes glancing through his scope. He looks around to see no sign of SHINee1010. It was eerily quiet and Woozi never liked eerie silence. He spots a random grenade being tossed to where he was. The small green spherical object landed right in the cliff where he was. Woozi's eyes widen as it explodes, and the cliff is turned into rubble. The area he took station in begins to collapse. Woozi puts his Hecate on his back and jumps into a tree, not looking back to see what was happening.

"Woozi!" SHINee1010's taunting voice rings from the area behind him. It sounds confident, like a lion cornering its prey. Woozi usually made fun of those who revealed their hiding spots, but this male was different. For the first time in forever, Woozi felt fear running through his veins.

Woozi doesn't look back, even though he could feel his opponents presence right behind him. He jumps down from the tree and runs for his life. His right hand grips onto his black handgun, running through the highway. Something whizzes from behind him and a bullet hits his foot. His health bar drops a little, and he falls on the ground. Thankfully, his Hecate is still in pristine condition. Woozi regains his footing and takes a quick second to put his sniper away in his inventory. Footsteps sound and Woozi sees SHINee1010 running towards him at an incredible speed. His left arm is up, his hand gripping his lazer stun gun. Red signal bars show where the stun bullets could hit if the taller man pulled the trigger. And he does.

Numerous stun bullets are shot towards Woozi, and if the smaller mans agility stat wasn't maxed out, he would be paralyzed in a heartbeat. Woozi does a backflip, a bullet passing under him just as his back arches and his feet hit the ground in a perfect landing. His right hand pulls the trigger for his black handgun, the bullet meeting the stun bullet in a explosion that makes his ears ring. More bullets are shot and he does multiple flips until the atmosphere goes eerily silent once more. Woozi sees no sign of SHINee1010 and he takes this moment to keep running in the distance. A bullet whizzes by his ear and hits the pavement in front of him. He comes to a complete stop immediately. Woozi turns to see SHINee1010 pursuiting him once more-but this time with his black handgun out.

Woozi stops running. He turns around to face him and he calms down, aiming at his running figure. Woozi shoots numerous bullets at him and SHINee1010 does the same. All of their bullets meet together in explosions and another gray fog forms from the ear splitting explosions. Woozi takes this as an oppurtunity to hide in a car, taking his Hecate out once more. He positions it and looks into the scope carefully, searching for any incoming danger. Luckily, there was none. And, like a ninja, SHINee1010 has disappeared from sight again. Using his X-ray vision skill, Woozi sees SHINee1010 hiding behind a weird duck truck. He can't help but laugh to himself.

SHINee1010 jumps through the duck trucks window, glass shattering. He charges at Woozi's car again, using all the stamina he could muster. Woozi kicks the car door open in case he needed to retreat again, and he aims at SHINee1010's head again. The cursor is wild, aiming all over the place. Woozi tries to calm himself down, but to no avail. The only option he had now was to wait a few more precious seconds for himself to calm down. He didn't know why he felt so afraid. He never felt like this during a match against anyone, and now he does. His heart races out of his chest, as if he were in a deadly situation that could affect him in the real world.

"Damn it all." Woozi whispers to himself and pulls the trigger just as the aim is perfect on SHINee1010's head. His Hecate shoots the bullet and it's in a perfect line, heading straight for SHINee1010's /very attractive/ forehead.

Time felt like it stopped. Everything moved in slow motion. Woozi's eyes widen and his heart nearly explodes as the impossible becomes the possible. His opponent's eyes are widened, but they resume their usual beam of confidence. His proton sword lights up the night in a beautiful mix of serenity and rose quartz. He slashes upwards, chopping the Hecate bullet perfectly in half. Both broken pieces fall from the air. Another explosion occurrs, and a wind rolls over the whole highway. Woozi doesn't have enough time to retreat from the car, because powerful arms grab his body and immediately pin him against the carseats. A stun gun is aimed at his forehead.

SHINee1010 doesn't hesitate to stun the smaller male. A stun bullet immediately sends an electric shock through Woozi's body and it stuns him. A small paralyzed symbol appears in the top right corner of his view. His eyes glare up into SHINee1010's dark blue ones, now filled with hatred. SHINee1010 puts the tip of his sword at Woozi's chest and he can't help but smile again. He can say whatever he wanted now that Woozi was paralyzed and couldn't speak.

"I bet you're adorable in real life, Woozi." He says softly, voice laced with pity. "I would feel even worse if I had to kill you in person." He gets really close to Woozi's face, and the younger man can't help but blush at this gesture, even though he hated it.

Woozi's putting all his energy into uplifting the paralysis, and the icon soon begins to fade away, symbolizing that he wasn't going to be paralyzed for much longer.

"I hope that you don't mind me stealing your first virtual kiss, if that's even a thing, love." SHINee1010 smirks at him. "I think you have very cute lips, and I want them to be mine." Woozi's eyes open in horror just as his lips meet SHINee1010's, and the paralysis fades away. Woozi can't move, and he internally damns it all to hell. He gently kisses back, but not so much that someone would think Woozi actually wanted to kiss him.

"Goodbye, Woozi." SHINee1010 pulls away, leaving Woozi too flustered to even move. His right hand reaches for his handgun again to just shoot the taller in the face but he was too late.

A proton sword passes through his chest and all Woozi sees is a pitch black darkness.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayo ayo!
> 
> I am so sorry it took me so long to update! I got hit with writers block and I had a lot of school things to do. I really hope this chapter was worth the wait.
> 
> I do not know when the next update will be, I will try my best to get another update out when I can. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! Please leave feedback and kudos, they are largely appreciated and I will try to reply to your feedback!
> 
> Talk to me on Twitter! My Twitter is @Soonyoungjpeg.


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